Electric Bike Action - October 2016

the blades on the brake levers are long enough to use four fingers if needed.

When parking the bike, there’s
a two-bladed kickstand that stores
on one side but fans out when it
opens to be more like a kickstand
for a scooter. It’s very useful to keep
the bike level while parked on flat
ground—especially handy if you’re
loading the rack. It doesn’t work as
well on sand or unlevel ground. If you
want to run into a shop for a moment,
there’s a built-in Abus café lock on
the rear wheel. Nobody will be able to
simply ride away with your bike, and
at 58 pounds, nobody is likely to pick
it up and run with it, either!
We had a great time running
errands with this bike, and it was
easy to get to places around town
with no sweat, literally. You won’t fit
a week’s worth of groceries on it, but
to run to the store and pick up a few
things or to go visit a nearby friend,
you’ll leave the car at home and grab
the Townie Go! every time.

THE VERDICT

The Townie Go! 8i is a beautiful bike that rides as well as any comfort bike we’ve ever ridden. It has plenty of power from the Bosch mid-drive. That’s a lot of great motor for such a low price point, and it’s not like they skimped on the quality of the components. We didn’t love the brakes, but they still work. It’s a fun bike to ride for commuting, hitting the farmers’ market, sightseeing or just riding to ride. ■

SPECS

Price: $2729

Frame: 6061-T6 aluminum Flat Foot Technology

Fork: Hi-tensile steel unicrown Wheels: Electra 26-inch

Tires: Schwalbe Fat Frank, 26x2.35"
Motor: Bosch Performance mid-
drive, 250W
Battery: Li-ion 36V, 11 Ah, 400 Wh
Controls: Bosch Intuvia
monochrome backlit LCD,
adjustable/removable